"...Blondie Lockes."
"Oh!" Blondie looked surprised and was visibly disappointed, but she remained composed and just smiled sadly. "Well, whatever-after. I knew my strokes were all wrong from the very beginning."
The other girls hugged her and mumbled their condolences. The crowd, seeing how well she was taking the loss, started up a good-natured round of applause. Soon Blondie was back in full spirits; after detaching herself from her ex-fellow contestants, she walked merrily to Headmaster Grimm, who appeared relieved and set his hand on her shoulder. They talked to each other for a moment - nobody could hear what the two were saying - until suddenly, to everybody's surprise, he handed her the microphone.
"Hi! Can everyone hear me just right?" Blondie's voice rang out into the air. She grinned and waved at the confused audience; the contestants were gaping. "Hexcellent! As you all probably know already, this is Blondie Lockes (now officially an ex-contender for Miss Ever After) speaking. And now that I'm out of the contest, I'm happy to inform you all that Headmaster Grimm has asked me to be a co-speaker for the pageant!"
The girls back down at the pool exchanged shocked but amused expressions. None of them had any idea that Blondie intended to be the announcer! Though in hindsight, the position fitted her perfectly. (In fact, Headmaster Grimm had consulted Blondie as soon as Ever After High was renewed and was quite disappointed when he found out she intended to compete rather than host - they had agreed ahead of time that if she got voted out, she would immediately take up the role as the co-speaker.)
The crowd started clapping and cheering. Grimm himself looked the happiest about this arrangement, seeing that he wouldn't have to worry about hyping up the pageant himself from now on. He passed Blondie a stack of papers and sat down at the judge's table.
"The next event is the Research Hunt," Blondie read from the sheet. "Ooh, sounds interesting! Tomorrow at 6:00 PM, all remaining contestants will report just outside the library for instructions about the event. All spectators are asked to go to the Charmitorium, where we'll be recording the proceedings on camera! Now we're not allowed to tell you what the event is going to be exactly… but I can say that it already looks like it'll be a page-ripper!" At this, Grimm cleared his throat and pointed sternly at the paper; Blondie giggled sheepishly and continued reading. "If you're interested in finding out more, come to the Charmitorium at 5:30 - which is when we'll start admitting audience members! Headmaster Grimm also would like to warn you all that you may not report to the library entrance if you are not a contestant. Anyone who is found sneaking around there at the start of the event will get a double-detention on the spot!"
Some of the audience members merely shrugged and smirked at that remark, obviously thinking that double-detention was not much of a threat. A few even began rearranging their schedules so they could visit the library at the time of the event.
"...With the step-librarians!" she added, and everyone suddenly closed their schedule books. "But until then, have a good rest of the afternoon, Ever After High! Contestants, make sure you get a good night's rest for tomorrow - you'll be needing it! After all, this pageant is only just beginning!"
Ashlynn was the first to arrive at the foot of the library door the next day, thirty minutes ahead of schedule. All of yesterday she and her friends had been discussing about what this "Research Hunt" event could be, and they eventually decided it was probably a scavenger hunt for information. To be completely fair, she didn't think it would be a terribly interesting event if that was the case… but that all was to be decided later.
Grimm and Blondie must've really done a good job threatening people with the double-detention, she thought, noticing how the entire hall was empty of students. Ashlynn leaned against the wall, silently counting away the minutes until the event was to start.
Two minutes in, she picked up the distinct sound of footsteps coming from the distance. Ashlynn looked up, glad that someone else had finally showed up - only to have her expectations totally and utterly crushed when she recognized who it was.
"Hi, Ashlynn," Duchess drawled, stopping at the opposite side of the hallway. She looked bored.
"Hi, Duchess," she replied stiffly. Ever since the events of True Hearts Day, she… wasn't exactly on good terms with Duchess, to say the very least. Ashlynn was kind by nature, but experience had taught her that there was little good in associating with the mean-spirited swan princess. Being alone with her in an empty hallway was not an ideal situation.
"What do you think this event's going to be about?" the marble-haired girl asked. Ashlynn shrugged. "Hmph. You're friends with Blondie, aren't you? She didn't tell you?"
"I didn't ask her about it," she replied, this time a little defensively. And I certainly wouldn't tell you if I did. "She wouldn't have told me anyway. It wouldn't be fair."
Duchess looked unimpressed with her response, but she leaned back and let the topic drop. Ashlynn looked away and hoped that someone else would arrive soon, but nobody else was coming. A silence hung over them.
"So what're you in this contest for?" Duchess asked after a while, crossing her arms. "Hoping to make the best of high school now that you've given up your happily ever after?"
"I'm just competing for fun," Ashlynn answered shortly.
"It's all about fun for you girls, isn't it?" she scoffed. Duchess twirled and propped her hands on her hips contemptuously. "I wonder how many princesses don't even care that they have these great endings all set up for them from birth? Just another fact of life, isn't it? I really couldn't believe you would throw it all away, though. Even Little Miss Perfect Apple White had the sense to flip out when she found that Raven was ruining her story."
"Stop. I don't want to talk to you," said Ashlynn, turning away and willing herself to keep calm. Duchess was just a bitter bully who had nothing better to do in her free time.
"You don't have to talk to me, but I can always talk to you," came her retort. "Still, it's not like I care. It's better for me that you're throwing away your future! Who knows… if Grimm can't find anyone to replace you, then maybe I can take up your glass slipper. But you'll be happy with your one true love, won't you? Godmother knows he's worth your entire destiny."
"Go away." She was angry now - Ashlynn could take any insult against her own character, but there was no reason to drag Hunter into this. When Duchess giggled and continued mocking her behind her back, she whirled around. "What is wrong with you? What have I ever done to you - what have any of us ever done to you?"
Duchess stopped. Ashlynn looked at her face and thought for a panicked second that she was going to hit her - but then the ballerina smirked and stepped back.
"Don't get your feathers all ruffled. I was just playing," she said.
Ashlynn didn't say anything. All she remembered was that fleeting look of hurt and fury that passed over Duchess's face, just before it fell into her usual look of disdainful pride. It confused her; she hadn't done bad anything to Duchess, ever, except maybe for the times that she brought it completely on herself. Was it because nobody invited her to the True Hearts Day dance that everyone knew she was out to ruin…?
"Um… hi," came another voice, sparing her any further thought on the matter. Cerise had materialized out of the shadows.
"Hey, Cerise," Ashlynn greeted. Duchess didn't acknowledge her presence. Soon the other girls arrived - Raven, Maddie, Cupid and Briar, and finally Cedar coming in last. A comfortable chatter filled the hallway as the contestants argued over what the event might be.
"Knowing Grimm, it's probably going to be a book report," Briar sighed. "Bor-ing!"
"But what about the 'hunt' part?" asked Raven. "Do you think they might ask us to… I dunno, hunt magical creatures or something as part of the project? I was thinking about it last night…"
"Does anyone else feel a strange dark presence right now?" Maddie piped. Ashlynn was about to laugh it off when she realized, to her surprise, that she felt it as well. The girls looked down the hall and saw a shadowy figure approaching them.
"Good evening, contestants," said Headmaster Grimm, after he reached the end of the hallway. He was holding a stack of papers. "I see you have all arrived on time - good. Let me explain your next task."
He handed out the sheets of paper. The girls looked over each other's shoulders and saw they all said the same thing:
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, by Newt Scamander.
TOUCHING RESTRICTED BOOKS WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE DISQUALIFICATION.
"Ahem." Everyone looked back up at Grimm. "Thank you. Your task for this event is to find a copy of the text listed on your paper in the school library. There are a total of seven copies in stock… and as you all know, there are eight contestants. I'm sure you all know what that means."
The girls looked hesitantly at one another. Their task was to… find a library book? What exactly was that supposed to test?
"Now there are some additional… stipulations," the Headmaster continued. "To find these books, you must look in the restricted section." (The girls gasped.) "But! - before you get any ideas - allow me to clarify that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is not a restricted book, but it has been moved to the restricted section for the purpose of this event. Secret cameras have been hidden in the library to track your progress. There are three ways you can be disqualified in this event: one, if all the other contestants succeed in retrieving a copy of the book and you are the last one remaining without a copy; two, if the step-librarians kick you out of the library for any reason; and three, if you touch any of the other books in the restricted section - so take care to know what you're grabbing before you remove a book from its shelf." He narrowed his eyes. "Otherwise, there is no time-limit; the event will last until all non-disqualified contestants retrieve a copy of the text. The step-librarians naturally have no idea about this event. If they catch you acting suspiciously, they will most certainly ban you from the library. But other than that, best of luck."
There was a horror-struck silence.
"Nope," said Briar, and she immediately walked back down the hallway.
Back in the Charmitorium, Blondie was reciting the same rules to the spectators, on top of explaining the multiple mirror screens flashing behind her. The students had never seen the mirrors arranged this way before: along the top of the stage was a column of glamour shots of every remaining contestant, and on the sides and center were eight different areas of the library. One of the screens featured the front desk where the step-librarians were working, but the other seven mirrors showed unfamiliar scenes from a dimly-lit library.
"For those of you watching in the audience, let me explain a little about what you're seeing! Seven cameras have been hidden discretely in the library's restricted section - they're currently recording the seven screens up here, as you can see - next to where the reference books are located. The largest screen here shows the front desk, where all the contestants will be at the start of the event. The long screen on the top," Blondie gestured at the highest screen, which the pictures of the contestants, "will show you the progress of our girls. If a contestant successfully acquires a book and makes it out of the library, her photograph will light up and she'll continue onto the next round! If, on the other hand, she is disqualified before she can get a book, a large red X will appear over her profile. To successfully acquire their research books, these girls will need to show prudence, resourcefulness, and - most of all - good library manners! And if all seven books are found by all but one of the contestants, the last contestant will automatically receive the red X and be disqualified. So, Ever After High, does your favorite contestant have what it takes to win this wicked challenge?"
The crowd responded enthusiastically. Blondie held out her microphone to pick up their cheers; it was safe to say that the atmosphere in the Charmitorium was much more energetic than the one at the library.
"Oh, look! Our girls are in!" she announced, pointing at the center screen with the front desk. Indeed, the contestants were filing into the library, each of them walking with nervous gaits. "Heads up, everyone! Looks like the Research Hunt has begun!"
The contestants filed in without talking much, knowing that they were being watched by the step-librarians (and the rest of the school, for that matter). Most of the girls appeared to be at a complete lost as to what they should do next. The path to the restricted section was just behind the front desk, where both the step-librarians were sitting and glaring. Getting past them by conventional means seemed near impossible.
Luckily for Cerise, she already had a plan up her sleeve: without thinking twice, she pulled down her hood and walked into the shadow of a nearby bookcase - by her second step, she was already deep inside the restriction section. Thank goodness for magical capes.
Cerise blinked a few times, adjusting her eyes to the new room. The place was enormous, it had two whole floors - one had to wonder why so many books were made restricted in the first place. It was also quite dark; the only light that filtered into the room came from the single round window placed high up on the second floor. She squinted back down at her sheet of paper… Newt Scamander. Would the books still be arranged in alphabetical order here?
She took a quick run over the nearest shelf and found that the answer was, no. In fact, it looked like none of the books had been sorted in a long time - Trolling & Mentoring: A Complete Guide, by P. Celestia, was put right next to Humanity's Grim Reminder, by Dr. Jaeger. Cerise sighed, wondering to herself how difficult Headmaster Grimm expected this challenge to be, and slowly began searching the shelves.
Cupid hung around on the second floor of the main library, holding her breath and praying to her unknown ancestors that this plan would work. She flapped her wings once, then twice, to warm them up - it had been a long time since she'd flown, and they were still all stiff from yesterday's swimming.
"All or nothing," she whispered to herself. It was a risky ploy, but she didn't have any better ideas.
Slowly, she climbed over the second floor's protective fence. Cupid took a deep breath and jumped - she dropped two feet before she managed to fly steadily, staying close to the ceiling the entire time. Then she carefully inched her way over the heads of the evil step-librarians.
It was truly nerve-racking. If she moved too fast, the step-librarians would feel the gust and notice her; if she moved too slow, there was a chance they would look up from their paperwork and see her anyway. Several of the girls gaped at her and drew obvious suspicion to the area above the front desk.
"Get back to your work!" one of the step-librarians barked, startling Cupid and making her drop a few paces. She flapped harder and accidentally sent one of the desk papers fluttering. The other step-librarian turned around to find the source of the wind (for a heart-stopping second she thought it was all over), but then went back to pick up the fallen sheet of paper without looking up.
Cupid forced herself not to swallow and continued along the ceiling. This was incredibly bad for her heart… but she was almost there now. As soon as she made it through the doorway, she tore off into the restricted section, flew all the way up to the second floor, and collapsed on the ground.
"Never again," she gasped, wiping the sweat from her brow.
"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope," Briar thought as she trekked back down the hall. She traced her way back to the school's entrance, pushed past the double-doors, and walked outside underneath the night sky. Then she veered left and started walking around the building.
Nope. She didn't like the evil step-librarians, and she was going to avoid them if she could. Briar knew just how to do that: she was going to break in through the window. No one said she had to get in through the front entrance… right?
Briar reached into her back pocket and pulled out her fairy flashlight. When clicked on, it illuminated the path before her like an industrial lamp. She continued down the rocky path until she found a familiar patch of bushes and an ivy trailing up the wall; looking up, Briar could see the lone window leading to the library's restricted section. She clipped the flashlight to the hem of her shirt and began climbing.
(Briar had discovered this secret little entrance - and exit - weeks before while she was serving detention with the evil step-librarians. No one knew why they made students organize the restricted section all the time; the books there had a certain magic that made them reshuffle themselves periodically, so they would rarely stay organized for more than a week. Either way, nobody missed her when she jumped out the window.)
She steadily made her way up until halfway through, where the ivy grew thinner and more brittle. Briar hastily grabbed at the brick walls; she inched her way up along the walls (occasionally slipping here and there) until she found the start of another, more secure vine. None of it startled her in the least - there was something about knowing her soon-to-be snoozefest of a future that made her fearless in the face of any adventure. It was a shame that her destiny called for her to sleep a hundred years; if not, Briar fancied she could've been something awesome, like a ninja. Or a double-agent. Or a double-agent ninja... pirate party-planner. Yes. As soon as she wakes up from her century-long slumber, that was exactly what Briar was going to do for a living.
[Back at the Charmitorium]
"Headmaster Grimm, would you like to explain to us the meaning behind this challenge?" Blondie asked into her personal mirror. She was trying to entertain the audience with her play-by-play narration, but the event just hadn't picked up its steam yet - after announcing that Cerise was searching yet another shelf for the third time, Blondie decided it would be best to highlight something else.
Grimm's face was looking in from the other side of the screen from his position just outside the library. He scratched his moustache. "Well… you see, the original third task consisted of a written test to be taken by all prospective Miss Ever Afters."
"Ooh, so what happened to that?"
"Ahem. The audience did not find this challenge entertaining enough to watch, so eventually it was changed to a more interactive research project… and now, this." Grimm ended with that and didn't look like he was going to elaborate any further. Blondie blinked.
"...Well, won't you look at that! It looks like Cerise Hood is on her fifth bookshelf, ladies and gentlemen!"
At first she figured she could simply curse the evil step-librarians - put a freeze spell on them, maybe, or transform them into harmless moths for a short period of time - but Raven quickly trashed that idea. Using black magic on school staff members just to get through a pageant event wouldn't exactly help in her crusade to undo her image as an "evil queen", after all. Raven mentally berated herself for even considering the thought; no, she would get her copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in a wholesome manner, just like every non-evil princess should.
With that said, Raven decided to try her hand at a summoning spell. She was making steady progress with casting "good" spells in Magicology (her healing spells worked almost a fourth of the time now!) - and she had to admit, it felt good to be able to use helpful magic again. Raven wandered off into the reference section and was now pouring over a fairy spell book.
"Spells for heating a bubble bath, no… Animal communication? That's not it, although I'd like to try that spell sometime…" she murmured to herself, riffling through the worn pages. "Summoning, summoning… it should be somewhere under Basic Utility Spells, right?"
"Whatcha doing?" asked Maddie, suddenly peering over her shoulder and startling her.
"Shh…! Not so loud, Maddie," Raven whispered. Maddie bounced back on the balls of her feet, carefree as ever. "I'm looking up summoning spells. What about you? Aren't you going to look for a copy of the textbook?"
"That's right! I am." The curly-haired teen whipped her tiny hat off her head and looked inside the brim. "I'm sure I'll find it somewhere here. Things turn up sometimes, sometimes not…" She frowned and began rummaging. Raven watched her pull from it a slice of toast, a video game console, and a chainsaw before forcing herself to continue reading.
Eventually she located the words "summoning magic - p. 183" in the index. She skipped forward several chapters until she found the single page dedicated to summoning. Raven tucked a stray lock of her over her ear and began to read. It looked simple enough; she practiced the incantation in her head a few dozen times before mustering the confidence to try it aloud.
"Accio textbook!" she chanted, holding a single hand in front of her.
Across the room, the staircase exploded.
Ashlynn was pacing back and forth in the kid's section, trying and failing to come up with a clever plan. The step-librarians had yelled at her for loitering around the front desk (where she watched Cupid sneak by right over their noses), and she didn't want to be thrown down of the library. Ashlynn sighed; she might as well call it quits now. Half of the other girls had already made it in, and the rest looked like they had an idea of what they were doing one way or another - except her.
A light scratching noise distracted her from her thoughts. Curious, Ashlynn leaned down to where the sound seemed to be coming from and gently pushed aside a stack of large stack of picture books. To her surprise, sitting on the shelf was a familiar face.
"Pesky?" she whispered. The mischievous squirrel cringed at the light that had poured in after Ashlynn removed the books. "What are you doing here?"
"Ashlynn! What are you doing here?" Pesky retorted, spitting out a mouthful of acorns. He wiped his mouth ruefully. "Great… this was supposed to be my secret hiding place for my winter stash. Looks like I'll need to find someplace else."
"Your... winter stash? Um, you know you can always use my room," Ashlynn offered. In fact, half of her dorm was used to accommodate one of her animal friends or another - and the other half was used to store shoes. She was glad that Briar was never fussy about the state of their shared room.
"Bah! Do I look like a common pigeon to you? A true pure-bred squirrel like myself don't rely on maidens!" said Pesky, puffing out his chest. Ashlynn pressed her fingers to her lips to keep herself from laughing. The squirrel had warmed up to her considerably after she and Hunter came out about their relationship, and although she wouldn't dare tell either of them, Pesky resembled Hunter in many ways. For one, they both had a habit of trying to act more gallant than they really were when she was around. "You still haven't answered my question. Why are you here? Studying?"
"Oh, um… not exactly," she sighed. "I'm here to do a contest for Miss Ever After. It's not going so well." She gave the squirrel a quick overview of her circumstances. Rather uncharacteristically, he listened to her from beginning to end without interrupting or making any snarky quips.
"So you have to get this book from the restricted section?" he asked finally. Ashlynn nodded. "Piece of cake! I'll get it for you, no problem. What's the name of this thing?"
"Pesky, are you sure?" she asked worriedly. She didn't tell him about her situation to pressure him into helping her out! "No, don't. I don't want you getting in trouble with the librarians… they're nasty enough as it is to us students, who knows what they would do to a meddling squirrel!"
"Pssh! If Hunter can't catch me, I doubt these old hags can," he said, eyeing the step-librarians carefully. Before she could stop him, Pesky snatched the paper from Ashlynn's pocket and read Grimm's instructions. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? They make books like that?"
"Don't go! It's too dangerous!" Ashlynn cried-whispered, but Pesky was already high-tailing his way to the front desk. She flinched as she watched him scurry right on top of the evil step-librarian's shoes, eliciting a disgusted screech. "Oh, no…"
When Cedar finally made it in, she thought she had entered a madhouse. There was a squirrel running across the floor, chased by a possessed-looking Cerise, and she was pretty sure someone was hammering at the window. Cupid and Duchess both paid her no attention as they concentrated on looking for their textbooks.
It was a total fluke that she managed to get in at all. Cedar had been sitting near the front desk, pretending to read a comic book while hoping the evil step-librarians would suddenly fall asleep or something and let her get by. She couldn't lie, being deceitful or sneaking around weren't exactly her fortes. She waited for more than half an hour when the staircase suddenly exploded - no one knew why - and sent the librarians running for a fire extinguisher. That's when Cedar took her chances and dashed right into the restricted section.
Things were looking… bad, to say the very least. She felt a twinge of pity for the step-librarians, wicked as they were - this secret event was totally ripping apart the library. Cedar ran up to the second floor and decided to find her book as quickly as possible, if she could. She was at a disadvantage from having arrived so late, considering that some of the other constants had gotten in within minutes.
Just as she began pouring over the nearest shelf, something touched her shoulder. Cedar squeaked and turned around.
"Shh, it's just me," Cupid said, looking apologetic. "I just wanted to tell you ahead of time - I've already searched that shelf, I couldn't find anything. Also, I saw Cerise cover most of the bottom floor. Why don't you come with me? I'll find you a section we haven't already gone through."
"I… thanks, Cupid!" said Cedar, astonished. She hadn't expected any help in this round, especially since it was a direct elimination event - helping another contestant find her book meant pushing down your own chances of finding one, after all. "Are you sure you want to tell me all this? I mean, one of us has to be eliminated if we can't find a copy…"
Cupid smiled and shook her head. "Don't be silly - you helped me with the last event, remember? I still owe you one! If you still can't find a copy after I'm done, I'll help you out, okay?"
Cedar smiled back, feeling quite touched. It was certainly good to know that even in a fierce battle for the title of Miss Ever After, they could all still be friends.
Meanwhile, another contestant downstairs was scouring the library alone and was certainly not relying on her friends… not that she had many. Getting inside the restricted section was easy enough for Duchess; she had simply transformed into a swan and sidestepped the librarians at ground level, where she could blend into the shadows. It was a peculiarity that she was born a black swan and not pure white like her mother had been, but her darker feathers had served her well. They made it easier for her to sneak around and dish up dirt on the other princesses - or in this case, getting past evil step-librarians.
She was currently combing through a rickety shelf tucked in a secluded section on the first floor. Duchess wasn't an idiot; she wasn't going to spend all her time looking through the entire library for her book. Instead she used her cunning to locate one of their "secret" cameras, which was pointing down at this area - she was willing to bet anything that there would be a copy of the book somewhere around this shelf. Duchess mentally congratulated herself for her brilliant idea, even though she hadn't struck on it immediately - in fact, her original plan was to wait for another girl to find a book and then attack her for it… but she couldn't have people in the Charmitorium seeing her do that. Still, one could never have enough back-up plans.
Halfway through the second row, her eyes caught a flick of gold with familiars letters. Duchess held her breath and squinted at the dark red book. Could this be it? She pulled out her sheet of paper and slowly compared it to the binding.
Just before she finished confirming that the book was indeed Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, a bright light flashed from above and temporarily blinded her. Duchess gave a muted shriek. "What is that!?"
There was the sound of glass tinkering. She forced herself to look at the light source and saw that someone had opened the window, and… was that Briar Beauty climbing in? What the hell was she planning? Duchess watched her leap down from the windowsill and clumsily mash the windowpane back into the hole, creating a good deal of noise. (She hissed; at this rate, Briar was going to get them all caught!) When she finally managed to fit the glass back in place, Briar scampered off to the search the shelves on the second floor.
Duchess exhaled. She couldn't believe that the step-librarians didn't notice… but then again, there seemed to be a great deal of commotion going on outside. She could pick up the distant sounds of… explosions, for some reason.
...Well, back to her book! Duchess ignored the steadily increasing volume of the environment around her and focused on her objective. Somewhere in the middle of the second row, if she remembered correctly? She scanned around the center and… nope, not there. Duchess frowned. She looked carefully through the entire second row, but the small red textbook didn't turn up. Then she searched the entire shelf. Finally, desperate, she dropped on all fours and searched the floors. The book was missing.
"Where?" Duchess barely kept herself from screaming. "Where? It was right here! Where did it go!?"
"Hm-hm-hmm! Is this it?" Maddie wondered aloud as her hand brushed against what felt like paper. She stuck her whole arm in and yanked out a small red book. It seemed like someone was screaming inside her hat, so she put it back on her head and held her new-found treasure in the light.
[Back at the Charmitorium]
"Can she make it back out of the library? And… yes, she made it!" Blondie announced. The crowd was at the edge of their seats now; the girls' portraits were lighting up one by one as they made it out of the restricted section with their textbook in hand (not that that was a particular difficult task now - the step-librarians were busying putting out a fire and tripping over chainsaws).
Eventually the seventh girl made it back, her picture lighting up as soon as she exited the double-doors. A bright red X appeared over the photograph of the last remaining contestant.
"Oh, dear," said Blondie, letting the results sink in. All of the library-tracking mirrors faded to black. "I guess we all know who's getting eliminated now. Well, sit tight for a moment, everyone! Headmaster Grimm will be here in a second with our lovely contestants."
As promised, Grimm was soon walking up the stage with the girls in tow. They came in a single-file line, one by one in the order they had completed their task, amid the audience's roaring applause. The crowd fell into hushed silence as the last, unsuccessful contestant approached the stage.
"Ahem." Headmaster Grimm appeared fatigued, which didn't surprise anyone considering the current state of the school library. "As you all may have noticed already, the next contestant to be eliminated from Miss Ever After is…"
RESULT OF THE LAST VOTE (SWIM CONTEST):
Blondie: 24
Duchess: 9
Cupid: 4
Briar: 5
Maddie: 1
Cerise: 1
(Anyone else not listed received no votes against them.)
[VOTING PERIOD IS OVER FOR THIS CHAPTER]
And it looks like Blondie's out by a good lead! Ha ha, I'm actually quite glad - I was planning to make her the co-host / reporter for the contest as soon as she got out (as many of you have guessed in the comments ORZ). About True Hearts Day: I started writing this story before the conclusion of trilogy, so… I'm just going to pretend it magically happened sometime before this event fffffffffff
*also: an obligatory disclaimer that all resemblances to other series are entirely intentional, and no, I own nothing. however, all the points to anyone who can name all the non-EAH references in this chapter ;)